Sauzin

I don't know if I would even trust duck taped kama's in a kids class. In my opinion you should have to be at least 20 to work with this weapon. Maybe 18 on an exception basis. Just my opinion, but kids have a difficult time distinguishing between toys and weapons. For example I had a kid come to class with a pair of foam nunchaku. I took him asside and spoke to him and his parents. I told them that while outside the dojo toys are toys. But the dojo is no place for toys and even more importantly, in the dojo there can be no confusion between toys and weapons. This means toy replica's are entirely inapropriate. They understood. While my experiance teaching kids is limited, the one thing I have tried very hard to teach is that weapons must be respected from day 1. While the kids don't have immediate access to any bladed weapons, they know that every weapon in the dojo is dangerous. They also know that they cannot touch another person's weapons without first asking their permission. So far there have been a couple slip ups but for the most part everyone understands that weapons demand respect. Moral of the story. Teach respect for all weapons but don't let kids touch any kama's (how do they know if they're sharp or not) untill they are adults. That's my suggestion anyway.

I really have to disagree with you here. Maybe I'm being to picky about this but I think this sends the wrong message. First of all I practiced Traditional Okinawan Meibukan Goju-ryu for a year and a half on the island of Okinawa. There the term "primarily strikes" meant slightly more then 50%. The way I had it explained to me was, "We like to grapple so that we can get into a better position to hit you some more." Goju-ryu has a lot of grappling in it. At least as much as any other karate art I've seen. It was certainly more emphasized then what I've seen in Shotokan. And when I say grappling I'm talking about arm locks, guillotines, head manipulations, extensions, wrist locks, arm locks, grabs and other balance defeating maneuvers. The way I view it is it's about movement. If you move well then you can strike, you can throw, you can lock, and you can take down. What makes one work well makes the others work well. Don't get me wrong I'm all for simple, but grappling doesn't have to be complicated. In fact it shouldn't be. If it is you'll have a tough time making it work. A throw, lock, or break should be as simple as a punch, kick, block, or elbow. The same rules apply. Circles do similar things in blocks as they do in throws. Going as direct from point "A" to point "B" makes a good throw as well as a good strike. I guess what I'm trying to say is that the fundamental principles are the same. The application and position of opponent is what makes the difference. Really to be prepared for any combatant you need to be comfortable doing whatever it takes. Sometimes an opening for a strike presents itself and other times it's easier to take the guy down. And this isn't Aikido. It's any martial art that practices good technique and knows how to apply them in any situation. The technique must fit the situation, the situation cannot be made to fit the technique.

Actually I don't duck tape my blades. Of course we don't teach kama untill shodan or nidan. And even then we start slow, very slow. I cut myself once. A little nick on the sid of my arm and afterwards haven't made that mistake since. I think sharp blades keeps you aware and forces you to practice safties. If you practice with duck tape then you may become overconfident and develop speed too quickly. My suggestion would be to slow down and always be aware of where the blade is. Make the hand transitions clean and controlled. And always practice the safties.

A match with shanai's right? Well if you have the gear I don't see why a Kendo school wouldn't let you participate but there's a reasonable chance they would make you look pretty bad. After all that's really what Kendo is about. Beating the crud out of other people with bambo shanai's. Still I wouldn't phrase it as a challenge. I would go in asking if they wouldn't mind if you participated in a sparring match. Tell them that you've had informal training with shanai's and they might let you. If you don't know how to use the gear though they'll probably ask to show you a few things first. Kenjitsu is a whole nother ball of wax. And to put it frankly I wouldn't waste your time. Like most non sport martial arts, they aren't about "challenges". And in regards to the subject of the post. Sure you can make your own style but in my opinion it would have a negative effect on yourself and anyone you taught it to. This is of course just my opinion.

If I may in the most respectful way possible, ask why?

You can say those things about any two martial arts. I'm sorry but Kenpo isn't a style. It's simply a group of different styles (such as, karate, kung-fu, Dillman theory, and street fighting) that happen to bear the same name. I have no problem keeping discussions open to everyone. This is after all a open forum about karate. But in my opinion you really should include every martial art in these "kenpo" topics. Because any martail art out there will have just as many similarities. Hey mattys I'll shoot you a PM.

I understand, that happens. Often I have to go back to my sensei and try and figure out specifics wiht him. The thing about Okinawan history is it gets very blurry at some points. I guess there are some things that certain people would rather have been a different way. And not everyone agrees what account actually happened. That's why you have to get different people's accounts and look at the evidence youself.

I'm sorry mattys, but that's just flat out wrong. It's more the other way around. Okinawan Kenpo founder Shigeru Nakimura took a lot from Shorin-ryu. Odo, who your Sensei learned from took even more from Shorin-ryu. I'd say 90% of Okinawan Kenpo has Shorin-ryu roots. Not the other way around. Goju wasn't even around at the time and it came almost entirely from China. Neither have any roots in Okinawan Kenpo.

Yea I can help you with that description. Kenpo means "fist law" and it is just about anything. It's basically a synonym for "martail art". A kenpo stylist may be a form of Okinawan Karate (Like myself) or they might be a George Dillman follower, or they might be a Ed Parker follower, or they might be a Hawaiian kenpo follower (like yourself), or they might be a kung fu stylist (such as shoulin kenpo) So to put this simply, if you don't see anyone standing up and defending Kenpo it's because Kenpo could be anything. You really need to be more specific and then we can talk about effectiveness. Because if you put a George Dillman "ryukyukenpo" guy up next to an Ed Parker "American Kenpo" guy you wouldn't just be talking apples and oranges. You'd be talking grapefruit and zucchini.

Every teacher is unique and brings unique qualities and knowledge to his teachings regardless of style. But to understand some of the grips against TKD you have to understand the history. The evolution or migration of TKD goes something like this: Northern China (northern sholin and crane arts)>Okinawa (karate) >Japan(by way of Funikoshi's Shotokan)>Korea (by training Korean officers in the Japanese academy) At that point TKD decided to forsake it's Shotokan heritage and stop doing the Shotokan kata they originally practiced. They made up a whole bunch of forms which ended up basically being a compilation of different kicks and basic techniques. Shortly there after TKD became an Olympic sport. Somewhere in there TKD decided forms were only good for testing and could not be used in a real fight. This is where many instructors brought in defenses from other systems to maintain some relevance to defense. Now you might wonder why I mentioned forms or kata in the history. Please understand that the oldest Chinese and Okinawan masters who have carried their original arts on have this much to say. Kata (or forms) are the art. Without them there is no art. So, in my opinion, the greatest lost to TKD was when the gave up their original kata effectively throwing way generations and generations of teachings and self defense. This is not to say that all TKD is ineffective. Far from it. But in my opinion the street effectiveness of TKD relies largely on the quality of the teacher and what he brings to the art.

About 10 hours a week.

I would not suggest that you take both. You're a bit young to be taking two styles at once in my opinion. They will most likely bleed into each other and that's not something you want at your stage of development. After you get a good 10 years under your belt then cross training may add value. 'Till then I suggest you stick with one style. The benefits will be huge.

I have to say that my knowledge with the katana is limited, but from what I've seen using a katana one handed is quite a challenge. I am not saying that a person using a katana one handed with limited experience wouldn't be dangerous. What I am saying is that with a practitioner who has limited experience (< 10 years) there is little question that it would be best to wield it two handed, if you had to wield it at all. The reason being that katana theory is quite different from any other weapons out there. Unlike rapier fencing where a series of maneuvers, parries, and thrusts are used to progress toward a killing blow, the katana is a one shot one kill weapon. Sure having another weapon in the other hand would offer something to parry and this would be relevant if using a katana was about parrying. But really it isn't. Its about drawing and cutting. Both of which are best accomplished with two hands. Now of course you can bring up Miyamoto Musashi who proliferated the two weapon fighting style. But consider the experience he had and required of his students before teaching this. This is not a tactic best employed by the masses. It is really only for the very experienced. Now it sounds like you have some sword experiance yourself so perhaps you can let me know what I'm missing here or why you are suggesting that this is not always the case.

Um yea, I would definitely have both hands on the katana. In my opinion, anyone with less then 10 years of kenjitsu experience would be well informed to do the same.

I had my suspicions There was a lot of explaining done both ways in those shots. I know I learned a lot and according to John (Shorin-ryuu) so did he. Even if it was only my "bad habits". But seriously I feel there were a lot of things I could have explained better. I think that is a big part of the learning experience, though. Learning how to communicate, share, and learn from others. And to Shorin-ryu Sensei, your hospitality and generosity was without equal. Beyond being a clearly accomplished and skilled martial artist, you are a true gentleman. That had a greater impression on me then any showing of skill possibly could have. It was my privilege to attend. Thank-you!

That is exactly what I was going to post. I was debating wether or not to include Ryuie-ryu (since I don't know of any styles derived from it) and Okinawan Kenpo (since I'm biased on this one). Still it's kind of neat to be in a style that made someone elses list.

Ever since I can remember when things got tough I would draw. I haven't always been very good at drawing but that never stopped me. I've always found something to be profoundly peaceful and permanent about pen and ink. If I were to know my death was imminent I would like have the opportunity to express it in a drawing before I died.

I would ask for a pen and paper.

Um, I would like to go on record as saying, tofu is not meat. I'm sure you know this but you put it in context next to fish and I have moral issues with any kind of confusion between a true meat and a plant. And a rather sneaky and disreputable plant at that. Otherwise known as soy *shivers*

Well Okinawan Kenpo is one of those things that you either love or hate. When I first saw it, I hated it. I thought it was ridiculous and impractical. Of course I was practicing Goju-ryu at the time and the guy demonstrating was not the most practically minded individual I'd ever met. The individual makes a big difference. I barely recognized the art when I saw my current sensei demonstrate it for the first time. Still it's a little different then most Shorin-ryu. We have a lot of the same kata's but a slightly different flavor of application. I'd say at least 80% of what I practice is from Shorin-ryu. 5% is from old tomari-te/naha-te. And 15% is random stuff from other styles that my Sensie picked up along the way. So I think this will be a lot of fun and very enlightening for me. I am also very curios just how many similarities exist between our two styles. The accommodations sound great. I think I'll go with the blow up mattress though. My feet are kind of ugly and not so social. I'm about as much of a meat guy as I've ever known. Meat is good, potatoes would have no purpose if it wasn't for meat. Going out sounds fun, but I must warn you, I don't dance. Kata yes. Dance no. Drink sometimes. Dance still no. Country dance, uh...sorry still no. But I'd love come along and watch, sounds like fun. I'm not a huge work out till you die fan either. That's good for class but I'd be more interested in sharing and learning stuff. The more time we have for that the better.

Naw I'm no old geezer, but I have been known to carry around a cane or a walking stick every once in a while . I'm not expecting mastery from anyone and I think we will all have things to learn and exchange but Shorin-ryu Sensei is definitely the lead guy. No question about that. Not to mention he's setting everything up. Speaking of which, I just got off the phone with my girlfriend and it looks like she's going to take a pass on this particular trip. Which means I get to drive 8 hours all by myself . Of course this also means that it will be just us guys. Maybe that's best after all. So what kind of extravigent accomodations can we expect? Will it be the couch or do I need to bring a blow up mattress?

While it is no reflection on the quality of the instruction it is generally a bad sign in regards to the instructor's motivations when there are so many belt and tab rankings that can be moved through very quickly. There are really only two reasons to do this. The first is to cause testing and rank promotions to occur more often and thus rack in more fees. The second is to keep students artificially motivated by offering more rank which in turn equates to more students and more fees. Either way money really is the primary motivator.

I have a two pronged opinion on that. First of all I don’t think it is the least bit necessary for a teacher to demand or encourage any kind of hero worship. Requiring that students have an open mind and are accepting of instruction without questioning is not the same thing as requiring hero worship. It is simply a method of training. Demanding to be treated like a superhuman god or professing this status to your students is an entirely different matter. This is not only unnecessary but it gets in the way of students learning. It is much better to project a humble yet authorative persona then to deify yourself. Martial arts students need to learn by example. Now the second point is that hero worship can occur regardless of the teacher’s attitude or teaching method. It is imbued in our culture to mystify and express awe when faced with what we don’t understand. This is what I call the “it’s magic” phenomena. And yes it starts when the students get their first demonstration after walking in the door. I think the answer to this is the propagation of knowledge and a good relationship with the instructor. It’s still going to show up, but over time I think this mystification can be broken. And once you completely realize what the instructor is doing isn’t magic he starts to become less of a god and more of a human that has some very admirable skills.

Shorin-ryu sensei is the guy with all the experience. I'm sure he's going to be schooling both of us. I have a very similar background to Shorn-ryuu. I've enjoyed close instruction by a couple of very knowledgeable people and have advanced very quickly for my age and experience. Perhaps too quickly in my case. Unfortunately I have a bit more theory then I do application, but the application is slowly catching up. Still I've only been doing this for about 8 1/2 years and I'm only 26 years old. It's going to be a learning experience for me for sure. As of right now the plan is still on to drive up there. Things like the state of my job and finances have been a bit unstable and if I lost my job tomorrow (which is entirely possible) I doubt I could afford the gas money. As of right now though, we (my girlfriend and I) are a go for leaving Friday morning and returning Sunday eve.

First of all I would like to compliment grandmasterchen’s post. That post really spelled out what respect means in terms of budo. Out side of what he said, I would like to add a few opinions. First of all I believe there are really two ways to learn: the hard way and the easy way. The easy way is to remove any kind of expectations or belief in prior knowledge that you have going into an instruction. This allows you to assimilate what is being taught very quickly and more accurately. The hard way is to question everything and compare everything with what you already know. This isn’t always very accurate and it’s never as fast. But you learn it better because you have to work harder for it. Learning things the hard way means you value it more once you do learn it and you have more confidence in it. Generally it is also easier to apply information learned this way because you have already tested it out and have built your own personal theory (the how and why) around its use. Traditionally in oriental culture they prefer the easy way. And it’s a testament to the success of this method that so many extremely proficient karate-ka have and do exist. Still it does have its failure points and a lot of this can be seen in some of the movements away from street applicability that have been made in some arts. But then you look at some of the more American dojo’s and you see the other side of the coin. People question before they are ready to understand. As a result they don’t get the whole lesson and run around collecting incomplete lessons from different arts until they think they understand or have compiled a “complete” art. Unfortunately what this creates is a large group of people taking the same beginning piece from different styles and trying to make a picture with it. Few people get a coherent picture this way. I think the best answer lies somewhere in-between. Certainly that’s how I’ve chosen to learn and it’s how I teach. I fear no question and I appreciate critical and well thought out questions that bring different things to the table. However, at some point students have to accept that they aren’t going to understand everything in one class. So a little good faith and a lot of good questions are more my thing.